Ornette Coleman: Harmolodic Thinker

For the first time in 45 years, venerated American artist David Hammons will present an exhibition in Los Angeles, opening 18 May 2019 at Hauser & Wirth. The artist has dedicated this exhibition, the largest of his career, to legendary musician Ornette Coleman—jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer—a founder of free jazz.

‘Follow the idea, not the sound.’ This statement by Ornette Coleman is an inspiration for David Hammons who reflects, ‘I was impressed with that. Follow how my ideas are put together, as opposed to whether the rainbow appears or the rain comes. I use this logic a lot. It moves in the realm of poetry as opposed to the actuality that people are used to or expect.’

On the occasion of this landmark exhibition and dedication, read below the tribute to harmolodic thinker Ornette Coleman from his passing on 11 June 2015.

Rarely does one individual change the way we listen to music, but such an artist is Ornette Coleman. Since the late 1950s, when he burst on the jazz scene with his legendary engagement at New York’s Five Spot, Ornette has been teaching the world new ways of hearing sound. His revolutionary musical ideas have been controversial, but today his enormous contribution to modern music is recognized throughout the world.